November 24, 2015

Auto Captives Summit provides industry leaders with new direction and vision for the future

U.S.--White Clarke Group’s inaugural Auto Captives Summit was held on November 11th, 2015 and was attended by senior executives of the world’s largest auto finance captives who gathered to understand more about how they can navigate the emerging digital landscape of auto finance.

In a powerful opening speech “Auto Finance - Digitally Remastered” described by Big Data Scientist Erki Kert as “one of the best technology overviews I have ever heard”, Brendan Gleeson, Executive Vice-President, White Clarke Group, outlines the key drivers backed by present day examples which are already beginning to change the way our industry is doing business.

Other highlights included:

The Zero Dollar Car presented by John Ellis, Global Technologist and Former Head of the Connected Car Program at Ford in Chicago. Ellis explained that the reason why disruptors are becoming increasingly interested in the auto and auto finance industry is because the data from connected cars is valuable and can be monetized. Ellis suggested that the value of an average car purchaser’s data is about US$5,500 per annum. This revenue may be used to drive down the cost of cars – and might potentially disrupt the auto finance industry in much the same way that Kodak was disrupted by the emergence of digital cameras.

Next Generation Credit Decisioning presented by Big Data Scoring, showcased how non-credit agency data is being used by retail banks to either supplement credit decisions and improve risk-pricing for the prime market; or as an alternative to agency data in global markets where data is absent, or unreliable, or for non-prime customers. Delegates were walked through a series of real life case studies which resulted in between 30%-40% improvement on traditional credit scoring techniques.

Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Luc Truntzler from Inbenta describes how recent advances in AI have enabled organizations to deploy technology that can learn to understand what information customers want, and to guide them efficiently through an automated process, using normal speech or written questions. This technology promises to revolutionize the customer experience while potentially driving down the cost to serve as computers replace call center staff as the first line of response.

Meeting the needs of the millennials – an in-depth and at times controversial look by Jonny Combe, General Manager, Product and Channel Development at BMW Group Financial Services on how manufacturers need to transform their current offerings to meet the needs of millennials (the next generation of auto finance customers).

Cyber-crime and cyber security – Experian’s Nick Mothershaw offers an insight to where the dangers really are for auto finance organizations taking their offerings online. Topics being explored included the “Darknet”, and the measures available to finance providers to keep their online interactions with customers safe.

In a post-event survey amongst attendees, an incredible 100% of delegates reported that the event was excellent, and suggested that the “provocative content and speakers” were the best part of a very enjoyable and thought-provoking event.

“This event had all the high standards that are synonymous with White Clarke Group - with a depth and diversity of subject matter that was both thought provoking and action inspiring!”